Hello lovely people of the Fairy Tail fandom! First off all, Hi!

I'm new here -obviously- and this is my first Fairy Tail story. My cousin Miranda showed me Fairy Tail a few months ago and I fell in love with it in a matter of seconds. Then I watched all the episodes in just a few days, and when I found out where to find the manga (Thank you, xKeepingHappyx! ;) I read that as soon as I could too. I can now happily tell you I'm up-to-date and more obsessed than ever. I've written stories before, but never Fairy Tail... Of course, I should have known I would end up writing for this too. I always end up writing about things I'm obsessed with.

I got the idea for this one-shot when I was thinking about Lucy and the stars. I like stars. A lot. So when I began to type I got a little carried away with my enthusiasm. I had to force myself to leave out the unnecessary info and facts and that kind of stuff. And make sure I was only talking about stars. Not the moon, not planets, just stars. It was hard, but I did it. ^^ And I love the result. Imagining Lucy as a little child with her mother Layla was great! R&R!

Disclaimer: Uhm... well I'm not Japanese for starters... And I'm a girl. A teenage girl. So I can't possibly be Hiro Mashima, right? As you all know, that means I don't own the wonderful anime/manga called Fairy Tail. There would be more NaLu if I owned it. :P "Fairy Tail" and all related logos, titles and characters are trademarks of whatever company I don't know the name of. I own nothing. Hiro Mashima is the brilliant creator of this awesome anime/manga.

"Mommy, show me the stars!"

She was five when her mother sat down with her to watch the stars outside for the first time. Little enough to have that sweet open mind full of wonder, but old enough to understand what it was all about.

It was a warm, clear autumn night. One of those nights when it's dark enough to see the stars early, but still warm enough to make you think summer had just started, to grasp that warm feeling about being outside.

The sky was pitch black, with gold and silver twinkles scattered across it. Her eyes searched the sky to find anything less overwhelming to hold onto. She was amazed, filled with happiness and the thrill of just standing there under the cover of darkness. To her it wasn't scary or creepy, it was amazing, it was pure happiness. Her mom could only watch with amusement as her little eyes kept flashing over the sky, wanting to see every single point of light.

Eventually, she grew tired, and her mom pulled Lucy onto her lap where she fell asleep with the stars of heaven blinking down on her, her mother's quiet humming in her ears, and loving arms wrapped around her.

She would always remember that feeling. It had changed the way she thought about the night, and ever since that moment, she hadn't been able to be afraid of the dark. The dark meant happiness, warmth, love, companionship.

When she got older, her mom took her out some more, choosing to point out the constellations rather than giving her another dusty book to study.

The nights weren't so clear anymore, but mostly in places where a little too much light from below hid her weaker companions in the sky from her sight. It made her sad to miss them, but when she said so, her mom pointed out they were never really gone, just waiting until it was time to show up again.

This way, it was easier to learn to recognize the main constellations in the sky. The zodiac symbols, the North Star, summer and winter show-ups, and famous eye-catchers. It was nice to learn them without the diversity of other stars getting in the way of actually seeing them, and next time it was dark enough, she was glad for it. It made them more of a challenge for her to find, even though she knew them off by heart. It would have been impossible to learn them among their countless, often non-related friends.

And then she grew old enough to learn that all those beautiful stars up in the sky were actually real people she could talk to and play with and get to know. They were different from her mum and dad, or even the huge amount of staff they had. Although she did notice one thing. Or actually two. They listened to her mother -which wasn't that weird actually since she was lady of the castle- but only to her and never to dad. They didn't interact all that much with all the other staff either, but they were rather fond of her. Well... most of them anyway. The other thing was that they often weren't around, and even she couldn't find them on her adventures exploring through her mansion and the gardens that belonged with it. They only showed up when -again- her mother called them.

And she had no idea why.

She would think and fuss about it for days before going to her mother to ask. And Layla laughed and grabbed the golden ring of keys she always had with her. On it were three golden keys, and five silver keys. They were beautiful, blinking in the sunlight and with nice but difficult patterns etched into their surfaces to tell them apart. The colors were what struck her the most though. It was like her mother grabbed some star-dust and sprinkled it on the keys, making them the exact color of the stars she saw at night.

She wasn't that wrong about it. The color.

Because those keys weren't normal keys like her mother told her. They were celestial keys, keys to another world; the world of the star constellations. Every constellation Lucy had to learn in those nights she spent outside was a real person –not a human being- but a spirit. And the keys were needed to open the doors between her world and theirs. Mother showed her that day how she called them, and her spirits responded to her call immediately. They seemed quite amused when they saw the surprised, awe-struck eyes of the still little Lucy, and didn't even mind there wasn't really anything for them to do.

From that day on, Lucy's lessons in magic began. And she was a passionate student. Magic, she learned, was something that was an important thing in society, used, traded, and sold almost every day. There were many kinds of magic, but her mother's magic was what really interested her. She wanted to learn how to call the spirits of the heavens too. That beautiful sky was a whole new world and it intrigued her. She learned which spirits went with which constellations, and what their names were. Even her mother didn't know everything, as she explained to Lucy once.

"I know a lot about the spirit world and it's inhabits, but until you've got the real key in your hand and can call on its spirit, you never know who they are. I don't have all the keys, Lucy dear. But you can try to find out more about them if you really want."

She discovered that new keys could be found and earned. Silver keys were the easiest to get. If you were lucky, you could find some of them at shops. Others could be earned with tasks or given as presents. But the golden keys were tougher. There were only twelve of them, the same amount of constellations the Zodiac had. Every key represented a certain Zodiac sign. They were rare, powerful and beloved among Celestial Mages. Layla herself had three, and counted herself lucky, seeing as some people had none.

As Lucy learned more about the stars, the night sky in general, holder magic and celestial skills, she also found herself growing closer to her mother's spirits. They were the nicest and most interesting people she had ever met, and she found herself enjoying their company, yearning to see them again. Slowly but steadily, they became a part of her family.

"Mommy! I love spirits!"

But then her mother died and everything came crashing down on her. Her dad wasn't too fond of magic, saying money was way more important, and less dangerous. Although Lucy wanted to hold on to her mother and her lessons in celestial magic, she found herself losing the fight. Her mother's keys lay forgotten and unused in Lucy's room. After all, she was so young she didn't know for sure what she should do with them. The pain of her mother's death also kept her from using them. They had been a part of her mother, and it just hurt to see them not with her. They were a constant reminder that she was gone. And on top of all that pressure, Lucy began to listen to her dad, who set his mind on making her a smart, proper heir to the Heartfilia wealth.

And Lucy took it for several years. Until she finally, finally realized she couldn't ignore them anymore. She missed them. They had been her family too, and not having them around broke her already damaged heart even more. So she held onto the important thing her mother told her before she passed away.

"Lucy, I'm giving you my keys. From now on they're yours. You have the same magic as I have. You're a Celestial Mage. So please, keep them with you and take care of them. They will help you whenever you're in trouble."

And so she did. She kept them with her, took care of them, and practiced every time she could to become a Celestial Mage just like her mother.

Her spirits were always there for her, and they travelled with her as she went her own path. Keys on her hip, and the stars above her.

So how did I do? I sure hope you guys liked it. Because I'm writing like crazy at the moment. So you can expect more stories! :D Does anyone has comments, thoughts, constructive criticism, or just a simple welcome? I would love to hear them! If so: Review please!